


Lasso the Moon

by itstheweekend (petersnotkingyet)



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Alpha!Harvey, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Boarding School, M/M, No Sex, Omega Verse, Omega!Mike, This is ABO bc I feel like fucking around with dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 14:39:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3450803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersnotkingyet/pseuds/itstheweekend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite the fact that he benefits the most from society's hierarchy, Harvey resents his biology sometimes.  He wants to be successful just because he's Harvey, not because he's an Alpha.</p><p>After Mike's parents are killed in a car accident, he's enrolled in Pearson Hardman Academy, an elite boarding school.  He isn't used to the special treatment his status as an Omega earns him there, but that doesn't mean he doesn't see its benefits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Moving at the age of fourteen would be difficult for anyone,” the counselor, Ms. Paulsen, said. The entire school had been gathered in the auditorium for an announcement, and now everyone was listening obediently to Ms. Paulsen. They all knew that the sooner the assembly ended, the sooner they would be released to go to dinner.

“It is especially difficult for an Omega,” she stated. “As you all know, Omegas form intense, deep interpersonal relationships and are often more emotionally sensitive. On Monday, an Omega named Michael Ross will be joining our school. His parents were killed in a car accident three weeks ago while Michael was in the car with them. Understandably, he is especially sensitive right now, and I hope all of you will be prepared to look after him.”

Despite the fact that he’d never met the boy, Harvey could feel his stomach clenching. A fourteen year old seeing his parents die was awful enough, but the fact that he was an Omega just made it even worse. 

Pearson Hardman Academy had a more diverse demographic than the general population—9% Omega, 32% Alpha, and 59% Beta as opposed to the outside world’s 4% Omega, 10% Alpha, and 86% Beta. Because more of the students knew Omegas personally, they were typically more sensitive to their needs.

The school had over triple the number of Alpha students than the general population. Alpha families tended to be successful, and therefore they were able to enroll their children in elite schools such as Pearson Hardman. Omegas were almost always eligible for scholarships, but it was healthier for them to stay close to their families, so few of them chose to board. Harvey suspected that was part of the reason so many Betas—Louis among them—always had a stick up their ass. There were fewer old money Beta families, and they didn’t get the benefits Omegas did. Still, even schools like Pearson Hardman Academy had more Betas than Alphas and Omegas combined.

“It’s really too bad he’s only fourteen,” Louis said quietly. “That’ll make him a ninth grader, and I doubt any of the freshman are emotionally developed enough to provide adequate emotional support.”

Harvey shrugged, trying not to look too attached to some kid he hadn’t even heard of before today. Sometimes he resented his biology, which was odd considering it could probably be said that Harvey and the other Alphas benefited the most from the hierarchy. “Maybe he’ll be in a higher grade. Lots of Omegas show intellectual aptitude beyond their years.”

“His parents just died, Specter,” Louis said. “Nobody is going to want to push him.”

By the time Ms. Paulsen had dismissed them and everyone filed out of the auditorium, it was time for dinner. Harvey sat with his usual group, but he was more interested in the lasagna being served than the conversation they carried on. It had started off focused on speculations about the new Omega, but his peers eventually changed the subject.

The weekend went by fairly quietly. The students who lived reasonably close to the school usually went home for the weekend, but Harvey and some of the others remained on campus. He took one of the optional Saturday classes—which ended up being a law lecture attended by seven of Pearson Hardman’s 342 students. On Sunday, he was walking back to the dorms after eating lunch when Ms. Pearson, one of the school’s two deans, gestured him into the office. Harvey briefly considered pretending he hadn’t seen her before deciding against it. Ms. Pearson had pulled some strings to get him admitted despite his… troublesome track record, so Harvey figured he owed her a favor or two.

“Mike, this is Harvey Specter,” Ms. Pearson said, indicating Harvey to a blond boy standing by her side. “Harvey, this is our new student Mike Ross.”

Harvey extended his right hand automatically. “Nice to meet you, Mike,” he said, examining the younger boy as they shook hands. He was short, even for an Omega, with soft features and pale blue eyes. There was a pattern of bruising across one of his cheekbones, a healing cut at his temple, and a cast on the boy’s left arm. The car accident Ms. Paulsen had mentioned was easy to remember.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Mike said. He was a little timid, understandable given the circumstances, and Harvey fought to squash down the lurch in his gut. Even with a stranger, it was natural for an Alpha to feel protective of an injured Omega, but that didn’t mean Harvey had to like it.

“Harvey, Mike is going to be in your grade, so I thought you might be able to show him around some,” Ms. Pearson said. Her tone made it sound like a suggestion, but Harvey knew better.

“Of course,” Harvey responded. He didn’t question the fact that Mike—who he knew to be fourteen—would be a junior in high school. “Do you have your schedule and dorm placement yet?” The younger boy nodded and handed over the two sheets of paper. “Hastis Dorm is the one I’m in too. We can go there first to put your stuff down, and then if Ms. Pearson-” Harvey sent her a look over Mike’s fluffy blond head, “is willing unlock the main building, I can show you were all of your classes are.”

Ms. Pearson matched Harvey’s look. “Sounds excellent,” she said. “I’ll accompany the two of you.”

Mike’s dorm was more or less identical to how Harvey’s had looked before he moved in. There were two twin sized beds, two desks, and a dresser. Both beds had sheets on them, but it was clear that both sides of the room hadn’t been lived in recently.

“Uneven number of Omegas?” Mike asked as he set his bag down on one of the beds.

“Yes, actually,” Ms. Pearson confirmed. “If you get lonely, we can see about-”

“It’s fine,” Mike interrupted, seeming a little more assertive now that his nervousness was wearing off. “It’ll give me time to get used to the school before I have to get used to sharing space too.”

“You’re allowed to have people in your room whenever you want so long as you don’t make too much noise, so you shouldn’t worry about getting lonely,” Harvey said. “Plus there’s the common room downstairs. We can go see it now if you want, but there are probably people in there.”

“Can we finish with the tour before we start making introductions?” Mike asked. Harvey and Ms. Pearson both nodded.

Harvey led Mike through the building, taking him by each of his classes in the order that he would attend them. “Each lesson is one hour, and you’ll have five every day,” the sixteen year old explained. “8:30 to 9:30 is first; 9:30 to 10:30 is second. 10:30 to 10:50 is break, and then third is 10:50 to 11:50. 11:50 to 12:50 is lunch. You get options for your meals, but you’re required to eat. Fourth is 12:50 to 1:50, and fifth is 1:50 to 2:50. Extracurriculars start at 3:30 if you get involved with any.”

“How are you supposed to get from class to class if one ends the same time the other starts?” Mike mumbled as they exited the building.

“The times are just rough estimates,” Harvey explained. Ms. Pearson seemed content to let him to most of the talking. “Teachers usually let you leave five minutes before the end of the period, and the next one usually won’t start until five minutes after the start. Each period is really more like 50 minutes.”

After showing him his classes, Harvey and the dean took Mike to the library, gymnasium, dining hall, art room, music room, photo lab, and auditorium. Mike took the most interest in the library, and Ms. Pearson promised to make him an all hours key card. Outside, they showed him around the fields, greenhouse, and pool.

“Someone should drop off your uniform before lights out,” Ms. Pearson stated. “If you don’t have it by morning, just go to class in your normal clothes, and someone will make sure it gets to you. Do you have any questions?”

“I…” Mike hesitated, his cheeks a little pink. “Are bicycles allowed?” Ms. Pearson looked a little surprised by the question, and the fourteen year old hurried to elaborate. “It’s just… I used to ride my bike a lot back at home. I wouldn’t be able to ride again until my arm’s better, but my grandma said she could find a way to get it to me if they’re allowed.”

“You can have your bike,” Harvey promised. “Lots of people ride bikes around campus.”

Mike’s face lit up, and Harvey felt his stomach lurch once again. “I’ll coordinate with your grandmother to get your bike here,” Ms. Pearson said. “Is there anything else we can do for you?”

The fourteen year old shook his head. Ms. Pearson said goodbye, and Harvey walked the younger boy back to Hastis Dorm. “If you need something, just ask someone,” Harvey said once he’d reached the door to his own room. His roommate would be back within a couple hours, and the sixteen year old wanted to get some coursework done while he still had the room to himself. “I guarantee any guy at this school would try to lasso the moon if you flashed the baby blues.”

Mike’s ears went pink. “Thanks for the tour and stuff,” he said.

“Don’t mention it,” Harvey shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you at dinner.”

The younger boy nodded, and Harvey ducked inside his dorm room.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, Harvey,” a voice called from down the hallway. The sixteen year old turned around to see Mike shutting the door to his room. “Can I sit with you at dinner?”

“Uh…” Harvey hesitated. He usually ate by himself, but something about Mike’s smallness and easy grins made him incredibly charming in a way Harvey was unaccustomed to. “Sure, I guess. I think they’re serving macaroni and cheese, so hurry up or there’s not going to be any left.”

Mike laughed and quickly caught up. “This is a really nice school,” he commented as they left the dorm.

“Yeah,” Harvey agreed. He’d attended a couple others, all similarly wealthy and prestigious, but Pearson Hardman was his favorite. Maybe it was the feeling that he had something to prove or maybe he just liked the trees, but Harvey wanted to finish up his last two years of high school at Pearson Hardman. “Where’d you go before here?”

“West Athens High School,” Mike said. Harvey’s face remained blank. “It’s a public school about four hours away.”

They’d reached the dining hall, and Harvey saved himself from having to respond by holding the door for Mike. He didn’t want to say anything negative about Mike’s parents—especially so soon after he’d lost them—but Harvey knew that if he had an Omega son he would never put him in a public school. They’d fallen out of use in recent years, but the remaining few tended to overcrowded, underfunded, and full of brash, insensitive Alphas and Betas.

Everyone was eyeing Mike as they got their plates and went to sit at the older boy’s usual table. The mac and cheese Harvey had predicted was accompanied by salad and chicken, and Mike dug in like he was half starved. Harvey wondered idly if Mike had time to eat lunch before he and Ms. Pearson took the younger boy on a tour and made a note to tell him about the snack bar.

“You’re Michael Ross, right?” Louis said a few minutes later as he sat down next to Mike. The Omega startled a little, oddly endearing, before nodding.

“Er… yeah,” he said. “I go by Mike though.”

Louis extended a hand. Mike put down his fork to shake Louis’s hand with the arm that didn’t have a cast on it. “I’m Louis Litt. If you need anything, I’m your guy. I could show you around later if you’d like.”

“Thanks, but Harvey and Ms. Pearson gave me the tour when I first got here,” Mike said as he picked his fork back up. 

Louis gave Harvey a look over Mike’s head, remarkably similar to the way Harvey had given Ms. Pearson when she volunteered him to play tour guide. “When did you get here?”

“Around 12:30,” Mike said. “I got sized for my uniform and all that before Harvey came by.”

“I went home for the weekend,” Louis said. Sometimes Harvey felt a little bit bad for Louis, when he wasn’t too busy hating him. Like most Betas, Louis was a drawn to Omegas as an Alpha, but he didn’t exude the confidence necessary. “I just got back about an hour ago. Specter always stays the weekend because he resents his mother.”

Right. There was a reason he hated Louis.

Mike giggled a little at Louis’s comment, but quickly squashed it down. “Harvey, do you know what time it is?”

The sixteen year old glanced at his watch and responded, “6:35.” Louis looked a little irked to have lost Mike’s attention, which Harvey though was fantastic.

“I think I left my watch at home,” Mike said. “I’ll have to see if I can get my grandmother to mail it to me.”

“I’ve got a spare one in my dorm,” Louis offered. “You can have it.”

“Mikey, you know the story of Persephone accepting the pomegranate from Hades and being trapped in the Underworld, right?” Harvey said. Mike didn’t seem to get the relevance, but he nodded. “And Eve eating the apple from the serpent and getting kicked out of Eden?” The fourteen year old nodded again.

“What are you trying to say, Specter?” Louis snapped.

“I’m saying that taking something from a snake always had consequences,” Harvey returned. Mike shrank where he was sitting between them.

Harvey was suddenly aware of all the eyes throughout the dining hall that were on them. Mike was a shiny new toy that everyone was ready to pounce on and protect, and something about that was incredibly irritating to Harvey. Omega or not, Mike was just a kid. There was no way anyone could want an entire room of people constantly prepared to coddle their every whim.

“So what time is breakfast served?” Mike asked. Then again, maybe he hadn’t noticed.

“7:30 to 8:15,” Louis answered immediately. “Someone needs to get you a schedule.”

“The dining hall stays unlocked from 6 AM to 10 PM so people can go to the snack bar,” Harvey said, pointing it out along the far wall. “It’s got fruit and granola bars and all that healthy junk. Sugary stuff has to be smuggled in on the weekends.”

Mike interest peaked a little. Figures, Harvey thought. As lean as he was, the kid looked like he had a sweet tooth.

“So what teachers do you have, Mike?” Louis asked. Mike relayed his schedule, which Harvey already knew, and it looked like Louis was making an effort to memorize it as well. “You’re taking eleventh grade classes?”

“Yeah,” Mike said.

“I told you he’d be smart,” Harvey said as he finished eating and went to put his plate away.

When he came back to the table, a curly haired fifteen year old had taken his seat and was looming over Mike, talking a mile a minute. Mike nodded occasionally, but he seemed to have taken a much deeper interest in his plate. “Move, Kyle,” Harvey barked. He wasn’t exactly sure why he’d come back to the table even though he was done eating, but he wasn’t about to question himself on Durant’s behalf. Kyle turned around, but he didn’t vacate the seat.

“Come on, Harvey,” the fifteen year old said. “I’ve got as much right to talk to Mikey as anybody.”

Harvey had used the same nickname only a few minutes before, but it didn’t sound the same coming out of Kyle Durant’s slimy mouth. “And I’ve got as much right to dump you in the floor as anybody,” Harvey said. “Now move before I exercise my liberty.”

Sighing and taking his sweet time, Kyle stood up and sauntered back over to the table he’d come from. “He seemed kinda like a dick,” Mike commented. “He kept going on and on and on about winning the mock trial competition last year. He wouldn’t let either of us get a word in.”

“His family is old school,” Louis said. He was older than Kyle, but the younger Alpha ran all over him like anyone else. “He’s probably just being like that because he’s not the youngest kid in the grade anymore.”

“Old school is nice way of putting it,” Harvey quipped. From how things seemed so far, Mike was going to have a lot of people sugarcoating things to him. He’d need somebody who would tell it how it was. “If by ‘old school,’ you mean they still refer to sex as ‘breeding’ and take every Omega in the family out of school after the fifth grade.”

Mike’s gaze was locked on Kyle’s back. “Can anyone enter the mock trial competition?”

“Sure can,” Harvey confirmed, a smirk lodging itself on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Harvey wasn’t entirely sure what prompted him to make sure Mike woke up on time. He was knocking on the door before he had time to question himself, but the fourteen year old took his sweet time getting over to the door. There was a thump followed by a muffled groan like he’d run into something or fallen over. When the door finally opened, Harvey had to hold back laughter. Mike was wearing an oversized tee shirt—the collar stretched out and threadbare—and boxers, but he didn’t seem like he was awake enough to be shy.

“You’re going to want to go on and get a shower,” Harvey said. “Everyone else is going to be rushing in there in the next ten minutes.”

Mike squinted at him blearily, eyes half-lidded and hair standing up wildly. “It’s so early,” the fourteen year old stated earnestly. This time, Harvey laughed.

“It’s 7:15,” he said. Mike went to wipe sleep from his eyes, and Harvey caught sight of the bulky cast that he’d somehow managed to forget about despite its vibrant orangeness. “You’ve got everything handled with the cast, right? You’re not going to fall over and die or anything?”

Mike nodded. “I’ve got a plastic bag to wrap around it so it stays dry, and I know how to wash my hair one handed,” he said. Now that he was more awake, he appeared to be trying to make his boxer shorts cover more skin, but it only served to draw Harvey’s attention to the looping pattern of superhero symbols.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Harvey said.

Back in his own room, the sixteen year old got his books together quietly. Harvey figured that he’d gotten pretty lucky with his roommate. They knew each other only by last name, and Johnson never infringed on Harvey’s desire for privacy. In return, Harvey did his best to be quiet in the mornings so Johnson could sleep in. Leaving his messenger bag by the door, Harvey loitered around the bathroom until he heard Mike’s shower cut off.

He was just making sure Mike was alright. The kid had a broken arm for Christ’s sake. Plus, he’d fallen over just trying to get out of bed.

Harvey was halfway through his breakfast when Mike sat down with a plate of fruit and pancakes. Mike must have gotten his uniform the previous evening like Ms. Pearson said he would, because he was wearing the same dark gray dress pants, white button down, tie, and sweater as every other student. When he turned towards Harvey, the older boy snorted.

“What?” Mike asked through a mouthful of pancakes.

“Kid, do you even know how to tie a tie?” Harvey responded. Mike’s ears went pink.

“Not really,” the fourteen year old mumbled.

Harvey wiped his hands on a napkin. “Take your sweater off and I’ll help you,” he said. Mike obliged as quickly as he could with the cast, and Harvey made quick work of fixing his tie. “I can teach you how to do it later,” he offered.

“Thanks,” Mike said as he pulled his sweater back on. Without thinking about it, Harvey reached out and smoothed down the bits of Mike’s hair that were standing up.

“Harvey, you’re being way too… sweet to be you this early in the morning, and quite frankly it’s freaking me out,” Louis deadpanned, drawing Harvey’s attention to the fact that every eye in the dining hall was on them.

“That’s not what your girlfriend said,” Harvey responded, standing up and grabbing his plate. “See, that’s funny because-”

“I don’t even have a girlfriend!” Louis snapped.

“That’s not my problem,” Harvey smirked as he grabbed his plate and his bag. “I’ve got to go.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Mike asked Louis a few minutes after Harvey had exited the dining hall. The Beta shook his head.

“Not unless you count befriending Harvey,” Louis said. “Harvey doesn’t really have friends so much as acquaintances. He’s been like that as long as I’ve known him. Then you show up and all the sudden he’s giving campus tours and fixing ties in the dining hall. I think it’s throwing him off.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Max jumped in. “Harvey’s just weird.”

“I think I’m going to go on and head to class,” Mike said. “Don’t want to be late on my first day and all that.”

“I can walk you if you want,” Louis offered immediately. Several others at the table also jumped in to offer, but Mike waved them off as he grabbed his stuff.

Mike’s first class of the day was US history. The teacher sat at his desk, but there weren’t many other kids in the room yet. “Mike Ross?” the teacher asked as soon as Mike entered the room. The fourteen year old nodded, and the teacher crossed the room in a few long strides. “I’m Mr. Whelk. Your seat is going to be right over here.”

He indicated the desk, and Mike set his stuff down beneath it. “We’re covering the Compromise of 1850 right now. Can you tell me what you know about it so we can see how much catching up you’ll need to do?” Mr. Whelk said. “There’s no pressure. Anything you don’t know can be taught.”

“The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by Congress in September of 1850,” Mike began hesitantly. “It defused a political confrontation between salve and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican American War, which lasted from 1846 to 1848. It was drafted by Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky and was greeted with relief although each side had issues with certain provisions. Despite the fact that President Zachary Taylor was a slave-owner, he had favored excluding slavery from the Southwest, and the Compromise became possible after his sudden death. It failed to pass originally in early 1850, but narrowly won passage after Douglas divided it into several smaller pieces upon Clay’s instruction. Following the Compromise, California was admitted a free state, New Mexico became New Mexico Territory with slavery undecided, and Texas traded some territorial claims for debt relief.”

Mr. Whelk let out an impressed whistle. “I think you’ll do just fine,” he said. “I’ll go get a textbook for you before class starts.”

Harvey didn’t see Mike again until lunch, but he did hear Ms. Zane and Mr. Whelk, the science and history teachers respectively, discussing the fourteen year old. As soon as Harvey realized what they were talking about, he paused to ‘tie his shoe’ and eavesdrop. “He’s adorable,” Ms. Zane said. “And his mind is-”

“Amazing,” Mr. Whelk agreed. “He could have taught the class. I was a little apprehensive about having a fourteen year old in the class—not that I would question Ms. Pearson’s admittance—but he could easily be taking college courses right now if he wanted to.”

“I thought maybe he just had an aptitude for physics,” Ms. Zane said.

Harvey couldn’t see them, but there was a pause like Mr. Whelk was shaking his head. “The kid has an aptitude for everything,” Mr. Whelk said. “Jones had him second for language arts and said he could have given a lecture on Hamlet’s last soliloquy.”

The sixteen year old straightened up from where he’d been slowly undoing and redoing his laces. Adjusting the bag on his shoulder, he headed to the dining hall for lunch. Mike was already at the table they’d sat at during dinner the night before and breakfast, and Harvey saw him fend off Kyle from the only empty seat. “Can I sit here or were you saving it for someone special?” Harvey asked once he’d gotten his meal.

“I guess you’ll do,” Mike teased back.

“Oh, look,” Louis stated monotonously. “It’s Harvey. Here to be charming and make the rest of us look bad. Fantastic.”

“You do that all on your own, Louis,” Harvey promised before turning to Mike. “Now, I have a very serious question, and I want you to think it through very carefully.”

“Okay,” Mike agreed, looking a little confused. Harvey had drawn the attention of everyone at the table now, and he took his time rummaging through his bag to keep them in suspense. After a moment, he pulled out a Sharpie.

“Can I sign your cast?”

“I want to sign it too!” Harold jumped in as Mike laughed.

“Everybody can sign it,” Mike agreed.

“That’s a little generous,” Harvey said as he uncapped the marker. “I don’t think your cast is that big.”

“Smartass,” the fourteen year old mumbled, watching the Alpha print HARVEY SPECTER in blockish letters across his forearm. “If any of you draw a dick on my arm, I’ll break your nose.” Louis snatched the marker next.

“How much longer do you have to wear it?” the Beta asked.

“I get a smaller cast in five weeks,” Mike said. “The doc said I’ll be in that one for another three at least.”

“That would be an unfortunate amount of time to have a dick on your arm,” Harvey said.

“I was in a boot for nine when I broke my ankle,” Harold added before grabbing the marker. His scrawled name was nearly illegible—Harvey thought it looked more like ‘harpoon’ than ‘Harold’—but Mike didn’t comment.

“I broke my wrist last summer, but I was out of the cast three weeks,” Harvey said as Harold gave the Sharpie to Max, who had walked around the table to reach Mike’s arm. The sixteen year old didn’t figure he was ever going to get that one back.

Harold shrugged and said, “Omegas heal slower.”

“You can sign it later,” Harvey said, gesturing at another kid who’d moved around to sign. Like he’d figured, the marker had disappeared. “I imagine Mike would like to get to class.”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed. He stood up and grabbed his plate and bag. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Harvey stood up too. “We both have math next. I’ll walk with you.”


	4. Chapter 4

Dinner consisted of vegetable stew, rolls, and another two dozen people coming up to sign Mike’s cast. Now that Harvey had given them the idea, they came prepared with a variety of colors. The fourteen year old seemed to like the shiny silver ones the best. He was much more patient than Harvey would have been, but eventually Mike just propped his left arm on his knee for people to sign while he continued to eat with his right.

Harold had stolen Louis’s seat on Mike’s left, meaning the Beta was now stuck at the other end of the table. In the one day he’d been at Pearson Hardman, seats near Mike had become a valuable commodity. Aside from Kyle, nobody had tried to steal Harvey’s seat, and the sixteen year old doubted anyone else would try after they’d seen Mike save it for Harvey.

“Does your offer to teach me how to tie a tie still stand?” Mike asked.

“Yeah,” Harvey said. “Come get me whenever, and I’ll show you the easiest way to do it. I can teach you some of the fancier knots once your arm’s better.”

Mike came by around eight, tie in hand and wearing a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt. Harvey was also in his pajamas, but he just grabbed his tie off his desk and gestured for Mike to follow him.

“Alright, so take the wide end in your right hand and the thin end in your left hand,” the sixteen year old instructed for the third time. They were standing in the bathroom so they could both see themselves in the mirror. “The wide end needs to be twice as long as the thin end. Now wrap the wide end around so it ends up in the front like this.” Mike watched Harvey do it before attempting it himself, fumbling awkwardly with his bad arm. “Then push the wide end through the look by your neck, and push it through the knot.”

“This would be so much easier with two good arms,” Mike mumbled.

“Hush and try it again,” Harvey said. “Your fingers are fine, and that’s what really matters. Now you just have to keep it straight, and pull the skinny end to bring it up to your neck.”

“How’s this?” Mike asked, turning to face the older boy.

“Uh…” Harvey trailed, reaching out to adjust it a little. “Not bad.”

“But not good either,” Mike pointed out.

“You’re learning how to tie a tie with a broken arm,” Harvey said. “It’s good, considering. But I would just loosen this one keep the knot in it as long as you can.”

“But I’ve still got my fingers,” Mike said, sing-songing the last word as he wiggled his fingers at the sixteen year old. Harvey laughed, and someone in the stall to his right cleared their throat awkwardly. Bathrooms were definitely the downside of boarding school. “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem, kid,” the Alpha said as he loosened his tie and pulled it over his head. “I’ve got to go get some homework done. If you need something, you know where to find me.”

“Alright,” Mike said. “I’ll see you later.”

“You might want to go ahead and take it off,” Harvey commented as he walked towards the door. “The whole pajama-necktie combo is a little weird.”

Harvey had his last two classes of the school day, math and Spanish III, with Mike. Spanish was the only class all day that Mike hadn’t immediately become the top student in. While his vocabulary and grammar were great, his pronunciations had ‘white boy’ written all over them. He couldn’t roll his r’s either, but it was cute to watch him try and blush.

The sixteen year old had just finished his math homework when Johnson entered their room. Harvey nodded at him as he put his books back into his back, but Johnson actually spoke to him for the first time in a couple days. “You’re friends with the new Omega, right? Mike Ross?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Harvey said, suddenly self-conscious. “What about it?”

Johnson shrugged. “I was talking to Paul, and he said he saw him go into his room bawling earlier.”

“When?” Harvey asked, standing up.

“Maybe like twenty minutes ago,” Johnson said. That had been about the time Harvey had finished helping Mike with his tie. The Alpha searched his memory for something he could have said or done that could have made Mike upset, but he couldn’t think of anything.

“I’m going to go check on him,” Harvey said, not waiting for Johnson to respond before heading out of their room and down the hall. Before he could lose his nerve, the sixteen year old knocked on Mike’s door for the second time that day.

“I said I’m fine, Louis,” Mike responded without opening the door.

“That’s an interesting way to pronounce my name,” Harvey said. There was a pause, some shuffling noises, and then the door opened. Mike’s cheeks were dry, but his eyes were still red. “Are you okay? Someone said you were upset earlier.”

“I’m fine,” Mike claimed, dragging the back of his hand below his nose.

“Did I do something?” Harvey pressed. “I’m an emotionally stunted asshole, so you shouldn’t take anything I say to heart.”

“No, it wasn’t-” Mike broke off and gestured Harvey into his room, easing the door shut behind him. “It’s just… My dad tried to teach me to tie a tie once or twice, but I never really paid attention, and I just wish I-” The fourteen year old sat down on the edge of his bed and pressed his face into the crook of his right elbow. “And now I’m going to fucking cry again like dumbass.”

“Mikey, listen,” Harvey said as he sat down next to the younger boy. He hesitated a little before wrapping an arm around him. He could feel the younger boy trembling as Mike leaned into the touch. “My dad tried to teach me how to tie a tie at least a dozen times before I started coming here. I didn’t pay a lick of attention, and I ended up having to google it the night before my first day.”

Mike laughed a little, but he stayed bent over.

“No teenager pays attention to their parents 100% of the time,” Harvey said. “Just because I’m teaching you how to tie a tie instead of your dad doesn’t mean you love your parents any less. Understand?” Mike nodded against his arm, and Harvey continued. “Second, there’s nothing wrong with crying. You could cry so much that the people on the floor below us drown, and I would be fine with that. Kyle Durant is down there.”

“I’m going to kick his ass,” Mike mumbled.

“Yeah, you are,” Harvey agreed.

The fourteen year old sat up and wiped at his face with the edge of his tee shirt. “I just… I really miss them, Harvey,” he said quietly. Mike’s eyes were a glassy, wet blue, and Harvey’s chest got tighter every time he sniffled.

“I know,” Harvey said, squeezing Mike’s shoulder, “but you’re going to be okay.”

The younger boy’s shoulders lurched, and Harvey suddenly had a wet face pressed against his neck. The Alpha rubbed circles on his back as Mike’s arms snaked around his waist. “You’re going to be okay,” Harvey promised quietly. “Everything is going to be okay."


	5. Chapter 5

“The mock trial is in a week and a half,” Mike rambled, flipping pages in the binder he’d received that morning. Louis had come through on his promise to get Mike paired against Durant, and now they each had a binder full of information about a criminal case involving fraternity hazing. “I need people to play the best friend, the psychiatrist, and the vice-president of the fraternity.”

“Mike, you’re insane,” Harold stated. “You’re taking on an insane amount of work in your first week here against a guy who has won every year since he was like twelve.”

“Pretty much everyone at this school likes you, so you’ll have your pick of witnesses, teachers or students,” Harvey said without reacting to Harold. “You’ll want people who are attractive, likable, and smart enough to keep their story straight.”

“What makes you such an expert?” Louis said. “You’ve never done the mock trial either.”

Harvey leaned across the table, oddly menacing for a sixteen year old holding a forkful of sesame chicken. “Maybe because my dad is a lawyer, Louis,” he said. “Maybe because I get my fill of court when I go home every summer. Maybe because, unlike you, this isn’t my first year at this school and I’ve actually seen how this goes down.”

Their stare down was interrupted by Mike shoving a handful of papers at Harvey. “Congratulations,” the fourteen year old said. “You’re vice-president of Phi Gamma.”

“He said you wanted someone likable,” Louis squawked. “You just had a display of how not-likable he is right in front of you.”

“Mikey, I just said that I get my fill of court every summer,” Harvey said. “As flattered as I am that you think I qualify as attractive, likable, and intelligent-” Mike smacked him on the chest with the papers and glowered, “I hate court and I hate mock trial even more.”

“Come on, Harvey,” the fourteen year old pleaded. “You know this show better than anyone else, and you want Durant to go down in flames just as much as I do. You’re perfect to be my key witness.”

Harvey sighed, already lost. “Give me the damn papers,” he said.

With a grin, Mike handed them over and said, “I was thinking about asking Ms. Zane to be the psychiatrist.”

“Ask her as soon as you can,” Harvey instructed. “Kyle uses her every year, and it’ll throw him off if you can get to her first. You’re going to want to play the man, not the odds.”

The younger boy nodded. “What about Trevor for the best friend?”

Harvey choked on the bite he’d just taken, dropping his fork onto his plate to pound his chest. Mike looked concerned and whacked him solidly on the back a couple of times while Louis looked on in amusement. “Are you kidding?” Harvey said once he’d managed to catch his breath.

“What’s wrong with Trevor?” Mike responded. “I’ve got science and language arts with him, and he seems nice enough.”

“Well, for starters he’s a pothead,” Harvey said.

“So was 80% of my old school,” the Omega shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything.” Harvey gave him a look. “Well, it means something. Just not a lot of something.”

“Second of all, he’s an idiot,” Harvey continued. “You should try to get to Ms. Paulsen before Kyle does, and if that doesn’t work out then I would use Harold because Kyle would probably be too afraid of damaging his delicate Omega psyche to question him too thoroughly.” Harvey glanced over to where Harold was listening to them talk. “No offense, Harold. I’m speaking on behalf of Durant.”

“None taken,” Harold said.

“You really think he’s going to care about the status of one of the witnesses if the prosecuting lawyer is an Omega too?” Mike asked.

“Durant treats his own mother like she’s two years old,” the sixteen year old said. Like Harvey, Kyle’s father was a lawyer, and the two boys had been forced to interact outside of school on a few occasions because of it. “He’s not going to have a choice when it comes to you, but Harold might just throw him. Still, it’s not a guarantee, so Ms. Paulsen is going to be your best bet. She can cry on command.”

Mike nodded as he shoveled down the last of his lunch. “I’m going to go ahead and go so I can see about asking Ms. Zane before fourth,” he said, gathering his belongings as he stood. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Stop talking to Trevor,” Harvey called as the fourteen year old walked away.

“So, Harvey,” Louis said as soon as Mike was gone. Harvey could already tell that Louis had an angle, and he started getting his stuff together in preparation to escape. “What was going on with your boy last night?”

“What do you mean?” the Alpha responded.

“I mean you teaching him to tie his tie and then him crying and you going into his room half an hour later,” Louis said.

“Considering you’re not even in Hastis Dorm and there was a maximum of two people in the hallway at the time, I’m not sure if it’s more impressive or creepy that you know that,” Harvey said. “How much effort are you putting into stalking Mike?”

“Come off it, Specter,” Louis said. “Mike may be new, but the rest of us know what you’re like. You know you’re not the guy to coddle the homesick new kid. You gave all the freshmen hell in the first semester.”

“He just lost his parents, you asshole,” Harvey spat, trying to keep his voice low enough that they wouldn’t attract the attention of other people in the dining hall. Harold had already fled the table, remembering to put his plate away but forgetting his backpack at his seat. “The kid’s not homesick; he’s grieving.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” Louis said. “You’ll comfort him a little so you don’t have to feel bad when you fuck him and ditch him.”

Harvey wanted to hit him. Damn the strings Ms. Pearson had pulled to get him into the school, and damn every fucking thing Harvey had to prove. He wanted to deck Louis in his smug, conniving face. He was two seconds away from doing it when a sentence from his ninth grade biology textbook popped into his head:

Alphas, especially during adolescence, are more prone to aggression and displays of violence.

The sixteen year old pressed his knuckles against the edge of the table until it was painful. He wasn’t some archaic, explosive meathead; he was Harvey Specter. That had to mean something.

“Louis,” he said slowly, his voice low and level. “You don’t know shit. If you say something like that again, I’ll kick your ass.”

Without another word, Harvey stood up and grabbed his belongings. The satisfaction of storming out was slightly dampened by having to pause to put his plate away, but Harvey did his best to get the anger out of his system before he got to class. He had math fourth with Mike, and he wasn’t about to let the younger boy know what Louis had said.


	6. Chapter 6

“I got Ms. Paulsen, but Kyle had already gotten to Ms. Zane,” Mike said before he’d even sat down at their table in the dining hall. Harvey glanced up at him, the healing bruise on the Omega’s cheek catching his eye. It was starting to fade, the edges a grotesque green, but it was still noticeably prominent. 

Harvey paused thoughtfully, watching Mike tear into his pizza like he hadn’t eaten in years. “Ms. Paulsen would do well as the psychologist because she’s older and more educated, but she might be able to play into people’s emotions better as the best friend. If you put her as the psychologist, you’re case will seem more factual, but empathy is also going to be a big part of the ruling because the jury is made of teenagers,” he said.

“I want her to be the psychologist,” Mike stated confidently.

“Do you still want me to be the third witness?” Harold asked. It seemed he was having second thoughts as the possibility of him having to play a role in front of his peers became more likely.

“Actually, I had another idea,” Mike said.

“Not Trevor,” Harvey broke in. “I refuse to let you use Trevor. I’d rather you run back and forth between the floor and the stand and be your own witness than use Trevor.”

“I’m the one competing, not you,” Mike pointed out, “but Trevor wasn’t my idea. I was thinking Ms. Griffith.”

“Jenny Griffith? The receptionist?” Louis said, eyebrows climbing. Mike nodded. “What the hell made you want to use the receptionist as a major witness? Is that even allowed?”

They all glanced to Harvey, who shrugged. “‘All participants chosen by involved lawyers must be Pearson Hardman staff or students,’” Mike quoted from his memory of the rules. “A receptionist counts as staff.”

“Yeah, but how do you know she’ll be any good?” Harvey asked.

“My grandma and the people from the state called at least a dozen schools when we were picking a place for me to go,” Mike said. “When they called here, Ms. Griffith picked up, and she’s what caught their attention about this school.” Harvey snorted. Of all the prestige and successful alumni Pearson Hardman Academy was known for, the friendliness of the receptionist was the reason Mike ended up here. “She’s attractive, she’s likable, and she’s smart. That’s everything Harvey said to look for.”

“And you don’t have to worry about Kyle stealing your witness, because nobody else wants to use her,” Louis said. Mike ignored him and turned to Harvey.

“I have a stupid question, and you’re not allowed to laugh at me, okay?” the fourteen year old said. Harvey shrugged noncommittally before gesturing for him to continue. “What am I supposed to wear to this thing?”

“A suit,” Harvey answered like it was obvious.

“What if I, say, don’t have a suit?” Mike prompted.

“There’s a van trip into town this weekend,” Harvey said. “I’ll find out who’s driving and tell them we need to go somewhere with decent clothes.”

“Harvey, I can’t afford to just buy a suit,” the fourteen year old said, sounding frustrated. 

“Let me handle it,” Harvey said, waving Mike off with a motion that was oddly assured for a sixteen year old eating cafeteria pizza. He glanced down at Mike’s empty plate. “Now go get your third witness before it’s time for math. She’s a busy lady, so you’ll want to give her as much time as possible to prepare.”

Mike didn’t look thrilled, but he grabbed his stuff and headed towards the office regardless. Louis was smirking pointedly, and Harvey sighed. “What’s that douchebag smirk for this time, Litt?” he asked before the Beta resorted to bringing up whatever it was on his own.

“Oh, nothing,” he said. “You’re always acting like you’re above biology, but you’re ordering Mike around and planning his outfits like you raised him.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “Or maybe it’s the fact that I already signed on to this project, so I don’t want to see it blow up in his face,” he suggested. Harold was bolting from the table once again. “That could be a factor.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Louis said. “Just don’t act like you’re any better than the rest of us.”

“Your girlfriend definitely seemed to think I was better than you,” Harvey stated as he stood up and grabbed his things. “See, that’s funny because it implies someone would actually date someone as bitter and short as you.”

The next period, they had a test in math that Mike breezed through annoyingly quick despite the fact that he hadn’t even been a student at Pearson Hardman for majority of the lesson. Harvey had to remind himself of how dorky the fourteen year old sounded in Spanish class to keep from being irritated by Mike’s absent-minded doodling as Harvey dragged through infinite polar coordinates. Once Harvey had turned in his paper, Mike whispered, “Ms. Griffith is on board. She sounded really excited.”

“That’s because students never talk to her,” Harvey whispered back. Mike frowned.

“They should,” the Omega stated. “She’s nice. She wanted to know how I was settling in and how my classes were going and if I liked the school.”

The teacher had caught Harvey’s eye, so the sixteen year old just shrugged and fell silent. Once class had let out, Mike picked back up right where they’d left off. “You know we can talk about things other than the mock trial, right?” Harvey said.

“What do you want to talk about?” the fourteen year old asked, sounding a little self-conscious and making Harvey regret mentioning it. 

“Do you like the school?”

“I sure do, Ms. Griffith,” Mike laughed. Seemingly out of nowhere, Trevor Evans appeared, looming over the fourteen year old’s shoulder. Something about him reminded Harvey of the birds that sat near beachside restaurants and tried to provoke people into feeding them.

“Hey, Mikey,” Trevor said, glancing at Harvey without a greeting. “Do you have the questions from Jones’s class? I forgot that we were supposed to write them down.”

“Yeah, sure,” Mike said. “You got paper to write them down?” Trevor nodded, and the three boys stepping into the doorway of an unused classroom so they’d be out of the way. While Harvey leaned against the wall and Trevor scribbled nearly illegible words, Mike rattled the questions off without getting his own paper out of his bag.

“You had all the memorized?” Trevor said as he folded up the sheet of paper and stuck it in his back pocket, sounding more surprised than impressed. The fourteen year old had given him all ten questions, and Mr. Jones hadn’t skimped on word count.

Mike shrugged and said, “I have a photographic memory.”

“Cool,” Trevor said. Although he wasn’t sure why, Harvey was annoyed by his casualness. “I’ve got to get to class. Thanks for the help, man.”

“No problem,” Mike said as Trevor disappeared back the way they had come.

“So that’s why you’re so good at everything,” Harvey said as they resumed their walk to Spanish. The Omega shrugged once again.

“I’m not good at everything,” he said. “It’s just… When I read something, I understand it, and I never forget it.”

“Memory can’t help you roll your r’s though,” Harvey stated as they walked into the classroom. Mike scowled at him, and the older boy laughed. “It’s okay, kid,” the Alpha said patronizingly. “Nobody’s perfect.”

Mike Ross, it seemed, was pretty damn close.


	7. Chapter 7

“I look stupid.”

Harvey glanced up from where he’d been considering two ties. Mike had tried to convince him that he could just wear his school tie with whatever suit they ended up choosing, but the older boy wouldn’t hear of it. “You don’t look stupid,” Harvey said.

“Well, I feel ridiculous,” Mike huffed. “This is worse than the uniform.”

“What’s wrong with the uniform?” Harvey asked.

“It’s…” Mike trailed. Something had seemed off all day, and Harvey got the feeling he was frustrated about more than just suits. “It’s fancy. It’s a rich kid uniform at a rich kid school, and I shouldn’t even be at Pearson Hardman.”

“You’re being silly, Mike,” the Alpha stated. “Pearson Hardman is prestigious. You’re there because you’re a genius. Sure, there’s a hell of a lot of kids that are buying the name, but that doesn’t change the fact that having ‘Pearson Hardman Academy’ on your college applications means something. Now do you like that suit or the first one better?”

“The first one,” Mike mumbled. “This one makes me look like a male stripper.”

“Might be helpful in the courtroom,” Harvey quipped. Mike opened his mouth to respond, but Harvey held up the two ties before he could say anything. “Which one?”

The fourteen year old walked a little closer to examine them, but his gaze caught on the table Harvey was standing next to. “How about this one?” Mike said, picking up a new tie. Harvey’s nose crinkled.

“It’s skinny,” he said distastefully.

“I like it,” Mike stated. Harvey sighed and decided to pick his battles.

“Fine,” the sixteen year old said. “The first suit and the stupid skinny tie. Now go get changed back into your normal clothes before it’s time to leave.”

Weekends for students who stayed at school consisted of optional Saturday classes and the occasional van trip into town. They also involved casual clothing, and Mike didn’t understand how Harvey made jeans and a tee shirt look the way he did. However, Mike didn’t need to know how the older boy managed it to know that it was unfair. 

Harvey put away their rejects as Mike went back to the dressing room. The younger boy was yet to appear when Mr. Whelk, one of the teachers who’d gotten suckered into chaperoning a van trip this weekend, appeared in the clothing section. “It’s almost time for us to head back to school,” the history teacher said. “Where’s Mike?”

“Dressing room,” Harvey answered. “He’s getting changed back into his normal clothes.”

“Alright,” Mr. Whelk said. “Why don’t you wait on him and then meet us at the van when you’re done?” Harvey nodded, and Mr. Whelk went to round up the rest of the students.

“Mike?” Harvey said, going into the dressing room.

“Uh… over here,” Mike said from behind one of the doors. Harvey rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I figured that from the fact that there’s no one else in here,” the young Alpha said. “What’s taking so long? Mr. Whelk said it’s nearly time for us to leave, and we still have to pay.”

“I’m sort of… stuck,” Mike said hesitantly.

“What does that even mean?” Harvey said. “Actually, don’t tell me. Just get unstuck and come on.”

“You say that like I’m not trying,” Mike said, his voice climbing an octave. “The stupid cast is hung in the coat, and I-”

“Unlock the door, Mikey,” Harvey interrupted. There was a pause followed by a quiet click, and Harvey opened the door to find Mike in jeans and half a suit. The coat was off of his right side, but was hung, partially inside out, on the cast and his tee shirt was caught on his head somehow. “How’d you even manage to do this?” Harvey teased, forcing himself not to look at the bruising across the younger boy’s exposed abdomen. These were much deeper than the ones on his head, and they got darker the farther up his torso.

“Shut up and help me,” Mike whined. With a laugh, Harvey carefully maneuvered the jacket off and pulled the younger boy’s tee shirt back down. Now that he could look Mike in the face, it suddenly seemed much stranger than the two of them were in a dressing room together.

“I’ll…” Harvey said, trailing off as he grabbed the suit Mike had picked. “I’ll go pay.”

Harvey was waiting when Mike had put up the last suit. Neither of them brought up Harvey’s weirdness in the dressing room as they made their way to the van, and none of the others commented. “Get your pup all dressed up, Specter?” Louis prompted from his seat in the middle row and Mike and Harvey clamored into the back seat.

“Your concern is really interesting,” Harvey lashed back, knives in his voice that Mike hadn’t heard before. “Especially considering the fact that you hardly ever even stay the weekend, let alone go on van trips, until I mentioned that I would help Mike find something for mock trial this weekend.”

“My parents are out of town this weekend. Forgive me for not wanting to go home to any empty house,” Louis spat, but his words didn’t have the same cut as the Alpha’s.

Everyone else in the van blew it off as Harvey and Louis’s usual arguing, but Mike seemed more bothered. “What’s the matter?” he asked once there was enough background noise not to draw attention to them. Harvey ignored him, and Mike just finally leaned over the seat in front of them to talk to Max until they got back to school.

With Max insisting on carrying his stuff and talking his ear off, Mike disappeared in the direction of Hastis Dorm as Harvey found himself cornered by Louis. “What’s your deal?” the Beta growled.

“What are you talking about, Litt?” Harvey said dismissively. “We argue constantly. Now is a weird time to get sensitive about it.”

“Yeah, we argue all the time,” Louis said. “I mean what’s with you being a dick to Mike.”

“I bought him a suit,” Harvey defended. “That hardly constitutes being a dick.”

The Beta rolled his eyes. “A couple days ago you were the one yelling at me that he’d just lost his parents. Now he’s under a lot of stress and still grieving, and you’re going to ignore him because I make a crack about your protective instincts.”

“It’s not going to kill the kid if I don’t talk to him for half an hour,” Harvey said.

Louis rolled his eyes again, and Harvey considered smacking him to see if they’d stick. “He’s been off all day,” the junior said. “You’re the only one close enough to him to have that effect.”

“You noticed it to?” Harvey said. Louis hesitated and then nodded.

“If you didn’t know, I was going to ask Trevor on Mon-”

“He’s still talking to Trevor?” Harvey interrupted. Louis nodded, and the Alpha ground his teeth together. “I told Mike that Trevor’s not going to do anything but get him into trouble.”

“Well, he doesn’t have much of a choice. They’re science partners,” Louis responded.

Harvey paused for a moment, glancing across the parking lot towards the dorms. “I’ll handle it,” he finally stated. Louis only looked a little apprehensive when he nodded. As much as they hated each other, Mike was their common interest.

He waited a few hours before going to pound on the door to Mike’s room. “It’s open,” Mike called.

“You should really check who it is before you let someone in,” Harvey stated.

The Omega shrugged. “Security’s good enough that everyone in this dorm is supposed to be here or wouldn’t be stopped by a locked door. You know you’re allowed to come in, right?”

Harvey did his best to pretend he hadn’t gotten caught hovering in the doorway as he strode over and took a seat on the unused bed. Mike was sitting on his bed with his binder for the mock trial and a highlighter. “Are you doing okay, Mike?” the Alpha asked point blank.

“Yeah,” Mike said, only a little defensive. “Why?”

“You just seemed a little… off today,” Harvey said. “I know I’m kind of a dick, but you can let me know if something’s wrong. Or you could talk to Louis or Harold or Max or Ms. Paulsen or somebody.”

Mike capped his highlighter and set it and the binder off to the side. “I’m fine. It’s not really anything anyone could do anything about.”

“‘What do you want?’” Harvey quoted. “‘You want to moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.’” Mike giggled, so Harvey continued. “‘Hey, that’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mikey.’”

“‘I’ll take it,’” Mike finished, pulling a grin out of the older teen.

“What’s going on with you, kid?”

“I want to do well in the trial,” Mike started, “but I don’t have any idea what I’m doing, and Kyle Durant is going to think I’m just a stupid Omega if I lose. And then there’s the fact that you said Trevor is a useless pothead, but he’s in two of my classes, and he seems like a decent guy. I just… I miss home, and I miss my parents.”

“You’re going to kick Durant’s stupid Alpha ass,” Harvey stated confidently. “I can’t fix any of the other stuff, but I can help you with the trial.”

Mike gave a small, watery smile. “Then let’s go bust some windows.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The movie being quoted at the end is It's a Wonderful Life.


	8. Chapter 8

Mike examined his tie in the bathroom mirror, sighed, and undid it to make a fourth attempt. Just before he could start tying it, Harvey intercepted him and deftly redid it. “You look fine,” the older boy assured Mike as he put on his coat. “You know this case backwards and forwards, and you’re going to kick Durant’s ass even with a skinny tie.”

“Yeah,” the fourteen year old said, half to Harvey and half to himself. “I’ve got this.”

“Yes, you do,” Harvey said. “So go get your binder out of your room, and get a move on. I’ve got to go turn something in to Ms. Zane, and then I’ll be right there to be Vice President Justin Taylor of Phi Gamma.”

With a grin, Mike exited the bathroom. Once he was alone, Harvey examined his own suit. Mock trial didn’t get him out of dressing up, but the sixteen year old would rather wear a suit than a uniform. Grabbing his bag from his room, Harvey headed towards the school’s main building.

“Ms. Zane, here’s the citations for-” Harvey said to his physics teacher.

“Harvey!” she startled. “Ms. Pearson is looking for you. You need to go by the office right now.”

“No can do,” Harvey said. “The mock trial is today, so I need to get to the auditorium. I just came by to give you the citations. I’m sure Ms. Pearson will understand considering she’s going to be the judge.”

“Harvey, your father is in office,” Ms. Zane said. The humor fell from the sixteen year old’s face.

“Did she tell you why?” he asked.

Ms. Zane shook her head. “She just said that if we saw you we were supposed to make sure you went to the office immediately.”

Gnawing on the inside of his lip, Harvey glanced down at his watch. The mock trial started in half an hour, and his statement was towards the end. He’d have to hurry, but he could make it. “Fine,” he said. As he made his way out of the classroom, he could hear Ms. Zane calling Ms. Pearson to let her know Harvey was on his way.

Gordon Specter was the perfect example of a successful Alpha, commanding a room with his mere presence. When Harvey got to Ms. Pearson’s office, his father was speaking animatedly with the dean. There had to be some kind of emergency to bring him to Pearson Hardman Academy, but there was no evidence of a problem in the lines of his face. Then again, there was a reason Gordon Specter was one of the top lawyers in New York City.

“Dad,” Harvey said as he stepped into the office, “what’s going on?”

“Harvey,” Gordon greeted, standing up and extending a hand. The sixteen year old shook it out of habit. “It’s good to see you. Why are you wearing a suit instead of your uniform?

“Mock trial is today,” Harvey answered, refusing to let himself be self-conscious.

“So you’re finally taking an interest in law?” Mr. Specter said brightly. Harvey shook his head.

“No, I’m just a witness,” the sixteen year old said. “I’m doing it as a favor for a friend.”

“Well, that’s something,” Gordon said. The way he smiled at Ms. Pearson made it seem like a joke, but Harvey had to grit his teeth.

“What are you doing here, Dad?” Harvey said. Gordon Specter didn’t make social calls four hours out of New York City on a Wednesday morning.

“We’ll talk about that somewhere private,” he said. “I’ve already cleared it with Ms. Pearson for me to take you off campus for a while. Your teachers will get your make up work to you later.”

“I can’t,” Harvey refused. “Mock trial starts in twenty minutes. Mike’s waiting on me.”

“I didn’t drive all this way to argue with you,” Gordon said lowly as Ms. Pearson politely ignored them. “Marcus is waiting in the car. Now let’s go.”

Marcus—Harvey’s younger brother—went to school two hours away. It had to be something big if Gordon was taking the time to get both of them. Harvey gnawed at the inside of his lip again as he checked his watch. There was no way he’d make the start of the trial, but maybe he’d be back by the time he was supposed to go on the stand. Gordon must have recognized the resignation on his son’s face, because he shook Ms. Pearson’s hand and lead the way out of her office.

The twelve year old didn’t know anything more than Harvey did, and they road in silence to a restaurant in town. It was fancy enough that Harvey and his father didn’t look out of place in suits, although Marcus’s uniform looked a little odd. They hadn’t all lived under the same roof since Harvey was twelve, but the same dynamic came back every time they were together. It was like a circus with Gordon as the ringmaster, Marcus as the clown, and Harvey as a balancing act.

“Your mother and I are splitting up,” Gordon stated shortly after their food had arrived.

“What?” Marcus said, his voice nearly a shout.

“We’re divorcing,” Gordon said, gesturing for his youngest to lower his voice. Harvey sat his fork down on the edge of his plate.

“Why?” Marcus demanded.

“Because she was cheating on him,” Harvey said.

“You knew?” Mr. Specter said as he eyed the sixteen year old.

“I didn’t have anything solid, but something seemed wrong,” Harvey lied. His father didn’t need to know that Harvey had seen his mother with another man two years prior. It hadn’t made any sense then, and it still didn’t now. Lily Specter—soon to be Lily Hopkins—was married to a wealthy, successful Alpha, but the man she’d had an affair with was one of the Betas who worked beneath Gordon.

For once, Marcus had gone silent. “Your mother is also in town,” Gordon said. “She wants to speak with you two as well, so once you’re done eating, I’ll take you to her.”

“Dad, the trial,” Harvey said. “I’ve already missed half of it. This is really important to Mike.”

“Harvey, I’m glad you finally have a friend you like enough to participate in a mock trial—I know how much you hate court, but you’re just going to have to miss it,” Gordon said. “This is more important than a game of pretend.”

The sixteen year old clenched his fists beneath the table, but Marcus was already drawing their father’s attention away from Harvey. “You can’t split up!” the twelve year old said. “Nobody ever gets divorced!”

“Nothing is going to change for you boys,” Gordon stated. “You won’t change schools. You’ll just spend half the summer with me in New York and the other half in Chicago.”

“I don’t want to see her,” Marcus said. “She’s the reason you’re splitting up like a couple of Betas!”

“Oh, shut up,” Harvey growled at his brother. Maybe he wasn’t the balancing act for once; maybe he was the stuntman. “Just shut up, you stupid, arrogant little-”

“That enough,” their father interrupted, drawing the few eyes in the restaurant that weren’t already on them. “You’re going to be civil to each other, and you’re going to be civil to your mother. Now finish eating.”

“I’m not hungry,” Marcus muttered.

Gordon said, “Fine. Harvey?”

The sixteen year old shrugged, and Gordon threw down a few bills before leading the way out of the restaurant. His sons slouched along behind him, and Mr. Specter instructed the driver on where they were going to meet Lily. He dropped them off without exiting the car, and the two young Alphas spent a couple hours with their tearful mother.

By the time he was back on campus, the school day was nearly over. The trial had to be over, which meant Mike would be back in Spanish class. Harvey didn’t even consider going before going to Hastis Dorm and locking himself in his room. As usual, Johnson kept his distance for a couple hours, and it was his roommate’s arrival at dinner time that convinced Harvey to drag himself to the dining hall.

“Harvey!” a familiar voice shouted as soon as the Alpha had taken a few steps inside. Before he’d even spotted Mike, the fourteen year old was wrapped around him in a bear hug tight enough to crack a rib. “Are you okay?”

“If this hug ends with my ribcage intact, I will be,” Harvey responded.

“Ms. Pearson wouldn’t tell me what happened,” Mike said as he let go of the older boy. “I tried to ask her if she knew where you were after the trial, but all she said is that you had a family emergency.”

“It wasn’t really an emergency,” Harvey shrugged. “My dad showed up with my brother to tell me that he and my mom are splitting up.”

Mike’s eyes got big. “I’m sorry, dude. That sucks.”

Harvey shrugged again. “How’d the trial go?” he asked. The corners of Mike’s mouth twitched downwards, telling the sixteen year old what he already knew. “I’m sorry, kid. I tried to get there, but-”

“It’s okay, Harvey,” Mike promised. “I get it.”

“Save me a seat while I go get a plate,” Harvey said. It wasn't a question, but his tone was slightly more polite than usual. Mike nodded, and went back to their table. Before the sixteen year old had even made through the line, Louis grabbed him by the elbow.

“What the hell, Louis?” the Alpha spat, jerking his arm out of Louis’s grip.

“Save it, Specter,” Louis said. “I figured you’d want to know that Kyle Durant is beating the shit out of Mike.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like having playlists to go along with things I'm writing, and I'm working on making one for this story. If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments. Also, if I like how it turns out I might post it to my spotify or 8tracks account.

In the time it took Harvey to abandon his plate and rush over, someone had already pulled Kyle off of Mike. As soon as Harvey spotted the fourteen year old—on his back on the floor with a hoard of people gathered around him—the punch was already in motion. It’d been a while since Harvey had hit someone, but no one would have been able to guess it. Kyle reeled back, grabbing at his face and letting blood drip all over the floor. A hand yanking him back by his shoulder was the only thing that kept Harvey from swinging again.

“We all want to beat the shit out of him,” the guy—an Alpha senior Harvey had never spoken to before—said brashly, “but that won’t do shit for your boy.” Inhaling sharply, Harvey gave a nod, and the older boy bumped one of the kids huddled around Mike. “Let Specter through,” he ordered, and the boy did.

Mike’s arms were wrapped around his torso, and his breath hitched as he pressed his face—red and splotchy—against Harvey’s leg. The older boy’s mind jumped to the dark bruises he’d seen across Mike’s torso. “Harvey,” the Omega gasped, sounding young and pained, “ _hurts._ ”

“Someone go get the nurse,” Harvey ordered, looking up, “and Ms. Pearson. And make sure that dickbag doesn’t go anywhere.”

A group of the gawkers carried out Harvey’s commands, and Louis gestured pointedly for him to pay attention to Mike, who still had his face pressed against the older boy’s thigh. Harvey could feel him breathing quick and shallow. “Come on, Mikey,” Harvey said anxiously. “Deep breaths. You’ve got to calm down and breathe.”

The keening sound in Mike’s throat ceased, but his breathing didn’t even out. “Mike, does it hurt like bruises or like something’s broken?” Harvey asked.

“Already broken,” Mike said shakily. He traced a line over his ribs with two trembling fingers as he forced a slightly deeper breath into his lungs. “Right where he hit me.”

Harvey’s stomach was in his throat. “Everything’s going to be fine,” the sixteen year old promised. “Just stay calm and keep breathing, kid. Ms. Pearson and the nurse are on their way.”

“Am I gonna be in trouble?” the Omega asked.

“Yeah,” Harvey laughed sarcastically. “You’ll get break detention for getting your ribs caved in. No, you’re not in trouble, you dumb kid.”

The fourteen year old’s head shook against Harvey’s leg. “Shouldn’t have provoked him,” he said. “It was stupid.”

“Mikey, you’re supposed to be the smart one, so you better listen well. And I know you only need to hear it once to remember,” Harvey said firmly, ignoring all the people gawking. Even with the shine he’d taken to Mike in the past week, most of his classmates hadn’t seen Harvey be… affectionate. “Unless you decide to pull a gun on someone or kick someone in the family jewels, there’s nothing you can do that warrants someone hitting you.” He glanced up to where Louis was looming over him. “What happened?”

“Mike didn’t kick him in the jewels so much as question their existence,” Louis said, eyeballing Kyle across the room. “Kyle was giving him shit over the trial, and Mike said that everyone knew he would have won if you showed up. Then Kyle got mad, so Mikey here thought it was a good idea to say that the only reason Durant is such a dickbag is because he knows he doesn’t compare to the other Alphas.”

“My case was rock solid,” Mike commented quietly, still sounding a little breathless. “I would have kicked his ass.”

Harvey didn’t get a chance to respond, because the nurse had arrived and was ordering everyone out of her way. The sixteen year old still had a lapful of Mike, so he stayed where he was while everyone else hovered a few feet away. Within a few seconds, the nurse was calling 911. “You’re going to be fine,” she promised Mike. “We just need to get your ribs looked at.”

The fourteen year old nodded slightly against Harvey’s leg as Ms. Pearson entered the dining hall. “I already called an ambulance,” the nurse said. “He already had two broken ribs from the car accident, and I’d say at least one of them has moved with the amount of pain he’s in and the difficulty breathing.”

Ms. Pearson nodded, eyeing Harvey’s position on the floor. “Who hit him?” she asked.

“Kyle Durant,” Louis answered before launching into the story. Ms. Pearson listened without saying anything, scrutinizing Kyle, who had been shoved into a chair at one of the tables. By the time the Beta was finished, sirens were faintly audible.

“Why is Mr. Durant bleeding if he’s the one who did the punching?” the dean finally asked.

“I hit him,” Harvey said unapologetically. Ms. Pearson didn’t look surprised, and she went outside to meet the ambulance.

The EMTs had Harvey move so they could have better access to Mike, so the sixteen year old joined his classmates looking on. “Here’s what I want,” Ms. Pearson addressed the students, her voice filling the dining hall. Ms. Pearson was the only Alpha Harvey knew who could command a room better than his father. “Everyone needs to be in there dorm for the rest of the night. If you haven’t had a chance to eat yet, take a plate with you. I don’t have time to deal with anything else, so I expect all of you to be on your best behavior. Understood?”

There were murmurs of agreement, and the students began to dissipate. Harvey stayed where he was, and Ms. Pearson approached him. “Get your dinner, and stay in your room until I call you to the office,” she said lowly.

“I want to go with Mike,” the sixteen year old said stubbornly. “He’s going to be freaking out. I don’t want him to be alone.”

“He won’t be alone,” Ms. Pearson said. If anyone at Pearson Hardman Academy could match Harvey’s level of stubbornness, it was the dean herself. “Ms. Paulsen will be with him. And since you decked Durant, you get to explain that to his father.”

“The last time Mike was in a hospital, his parents died,” Harvey responded. “He’s going to be scared.”

“He’ll be okay,” Ms. Pearson said, her voice a little softer. “Go to your dorm, Harvey.”

Without bothering to get a plate, Harvey trudged back to Hastis Dorm. His classmates knew him better than to bother him, and Johnson very wisely stayed out of their room. Harvey wanted to hit something—or someone—but there was nothing to hit. He paced for a while before trying to work on some of his make-up work from missing a day of class, but it was too difficult to focus for him to get much done. As time went by, the sixteen year old began to regret skipping dinner, but he was too proud to do anything about it. After five and a half hours—Harvey knew from experience that this was the amount of time it took to get ahold of an unreachable father in New York City—he was called to Ms. Pearson’s office.

It was nearly eleven o’clock on a school night, so the campus was eerily quiet as Harvey made his way to the office. Harvey wondered what was going on with Mike and hoped Ms. Pearson would be able to give him an update. Knowing that Ms. Pearson, Kyle, and Mr. Durant would be inside, Harvey schooled his expression and tried to look presentable before he entered.

“This is Harvey Specter,” Ms. Pearson said to Kyle’s father as Harvey stepped into her office.

“I’m the one who decked your son, Mr. Durant,” Harvey said candidly. He hadn’t intended to be funny, but Paul Durant laughed anyways.

“It’s good to see you again, Harvey,” the lawyer said. “You must have a good swing.”

Kyle didn’t seem to share his father’s sense of humor. His nose was swollen, and the skin beneath both of his eyes had already darkened. Harvey couldn’t bring himself to feel even a hint of remorse.

“Mr. Durant, I don’t think you understand the seriousness of the situation,” Ms. Pearson said from behind her desk. “Your son hospitalized an Omega. Mike Ross is currently in surgery to repair the ribs that were pressing against his lung.”

Harvey’s head snapped up, mouth falling open a little. He’d known that Mike was hurt pretty bad, but surgery was serious. The kid hadn’t even had to have surgery after the crash itself. Ms. Pearson looked like she was paying more attention to Harvey’s reaction than to Mr. Durant’s, and the young Alpha had no doubt she’d broken the news like that on purpose.

“With all due respect, Ms. Pearson,” Mr. Durant began, reminding Harvey of another reason he hated the entire slimy family, “we don’t have to make this situation any worse than it already is. I’m more than willing to pay any and all medical expenses, and Kyle won’t be forgetting those shiners any time soon.”

“This isn’t a negotiation,” the dean said firmly. “Kyle is being expelled. This conference was more of a courtesy in case Mike’s family decides to press charges.”

“I see,” Mr. Durant said, standing up and gesturing for Kyle to follow suit. “In that case, I’ll take him to clean out his room.” He shook Ms. Pearson’s hand and then Harvey’s. “Give my regards to your father, Harvey.”

The sixteen year old nodded, and the two Durants left the office. “Why did you want me in here for that?” Harvey demanded.

“Harvey, do you know why Mike is so unaccustomed to the way he’s treated here?” Ms. Pearson said. Harvey shrugged, and she continued. “You know his family wasn’t well off financially. He’s used to being around Alphas who shout at people in the streets and beat up their rivals rather than the type who know how to handle conflict and make him feel safe and taken care of.” She eyed him carefully. “I pulled a lot of strings to get you into this school, Harvey. I wanted you to see that because you need to realize you can’t be both.”

For once, Harvey didn’t have a comeback.

“Mike’s ribs were pressing against his lung, so the doctors went in to plate them so they would heal straight,” Ms. Pearson continued as she gathered her things. “We’ll know more in the morning. The doctors have said they don’t want students visiting him because of the risk of infection, but a staff member will stay with him until he’s discharged. I’m sure you understand.”

Harvey didn’t like it, but he bit his lip and nodded. Ms. Paulsen brushed by him on her way out the door. “Goodnight, Harvey.”


	10. Chapter 10

Harvey was outside Ms. Pearson’s office before she had even arrived on Thursday morning. When she spotted him, the older Alpha held up a hand. “Harvey, I’ve been up since five AM trying to get everything sorted out with this situation,” she said. “At least let me set my bag down before you interrogate me.”

The sixteen year old managed that, but just barely.

“The surgery went well,” Ms. Pearson said. “Monday is the absolute earliest they can see him being released. It’s going to take time, Harvey, but he’s going to be fine.”

The solid presence that had been in Harvey’s chest since the previous night lightened a little. “Do you see this going anywhere legally?” the sixteen year old asked. “I know you said Mike’s family could press charges against Durant, but there’s a certain amount of risk for the school too.”

Ms. Pearson shook her head. “Mike’s only living relative is his grandmother, and she’s in poor health,” she said. “Even before I spoke with her this morning, I was almost certain she wouldn’t go against the Durants. She was worried about Mike, but she trusted that we handled the situation well.”

“What about-” Harvey started.

“Specter,” the dean interrupted. “Go eat breakfast, and get to class. It’s handled.”  
As if on cue, his stomach growled. Now that some of his worries had been eased, Harvey was reminded of the fact that he’d skipped dinner. With a murmured goodbye to Ms. Pearson, the young Alpha made his way to the dining hall. The meal was oddly quiet. Mike wasn’t there for him to talk to, and the rest of Harvey’s classmates knew better than to pester him at a time like this. He ate quickly before making his way to his first class.

First period was when everyone else got the update about Mike. A couple people in Harvey’s class got sniffle-y, and three times as many got mad. The rest of the period devolved into a discussion about violence across the hierarchy.

The rest of the day wasn’t much more productive. Harvey’s second and third classes both spent the period making cards to send to Mike. Although the sixteen year old would have preferred not to have to think about it anymore than he already was, it gave him time to finish the work he’d missed when he was with his father. Math and Spanish were the only classes that went on as usual, and Harvey took notes for Mike.

By the next day, most everyone had calmed down some, and the teachers were more willing to make them work. People weren’t outright avoiding Harvey like they had on Thursday, but even Louis had backed off. After getting used to Mike pulling him out of his shell, the sixteen year old was strangely lonely.

 _You don’t miss him,_ Harvey told himself. He’d barely known Mike for two weeks. There was no way Harvey missed the kid after a day and a half.

On Saturday morning, Harvey had just eaten breakfast and was considering going to a Saturday class to keep himself busy when he was called to Ms. Pearson’s office. The dean was sitting at her desk, on the phone, and she made no hurry to finish up. Harvey took a seat and waited.

“Good morning,” he greeted once she had hung up.

“Good morning,” Ms. Pearson said as she set the phone back on the cradle. “Harvey, are you and Mike having sex?”

“Not currently,” the sixteen year old responded. Ms. Pearson didn’t look amused, and his eyebrows climbed. “You’re serious? Jessica—I mean—Ms. Pearson, he’s fourteen.”

“Fourteen year olds have sex all the time,” Ms. Pearson said.

“Not with people they met two weeks ago,” Harvey insisted. “Mike and I aren’t having sex. I’m not… I’m not like that anymore.” Or maybe he still was, but he didn’t want to be anymore. Harvey liked to think that was what mattered. 

Now there was a hint of amusement in the set of Ms. Pearson’s jaw. “You really like him, don’t you?”

Harvey ignored the question. “Did you call him in here just to inquire about Mike’s virginity, or did you actually want something?” the sixteen year old said, easing himself of the chair. “Because the lecture on the prohibition era starts in twenty minutes, and-”

“I got a call from the hospital this morning,” Ms. Pearson said. She waited for Harvey to sit back down before continuing. “Mike is showing signs of ODS, and they were inquiring about anyone he’s close to.” ODS, Omega Distress Syndrome, occurred when an Omega was under high levels of stress and separated from someone important to them. Most commonly, that would be their bonded Alpha, but it could also occur with friends or family members. ODS wasn’t serious, but it would certainly complicate recovering from surgery. “Initially, they thought it could be from losing his parents, but the timeline it developed on was all wrong for that.”

“So you’re just going to _guess_ that it’s my fault?” Harvey said. He wasn’t sure why this freaked him out so much. “Mike is friends with Max and Harold and Louis and Trevor too.”

“Harvey, you know as well as I do that this is no one’s ‘fault,’” Ms. Pearson said. “We just need to do what’s best for Mike, and you’re the person he’s closest to. So Mr. Whelk is going to drive you to the hospital, and you’re going to sit with Ms. Paulsen and Mike for a couple hours. If he stops showing symptoms, you’ll stay there. If he doesn’t, we’ll know it’s someone else.”

“Fine,” Harvey agreed.

Mr. Whelk taught seniors, so he and Harvey knew each other only from van trips and reputation. Their drive into town was mostly silent, but Mr. Whelk walked Harvey to Mike’s room before he left. Ms. Paulsen was sitting on the small sofa, and Mike was asleep on the bed, looking surprisingly normal.

“Harvey, they told me you were coming,” Ms. Paulsen greeted, moving her purse off of the other side of the sofa.

“Yeah,” the sixteen year old said as he sat down. “Ms. Pearson said Mike was showing signs of ODS.”

Ms. Paulsen nodded. “It wasn’t anything serious, but his blood pressure was a little high and his heartrate had accelerated,” she said. “He’s on a lot of pain meds, so he’s been doing a lot of sleeping.” Harvey nodded, unsure of what to say, and Ms. Paulsen continued. “Do you want to hear what he said when he first woke up after he came out of surgery?”

The sixteen year old hiked an eyebrow. “Do I?”

“He was a little mixed up, like you’d expect, so I explained that he’d gotten hurt and had to have surgery,” Ms. Paulsen said, leaning towards Harvey. “He just kept staring at me, so I was telling him that he was going to be fine and that there was nothing to worry about. Finally, he just sighed really dramatically, closed his eyes, and said, “I’m never going to ride my bike at this rate.””

Harvey snorted, and Ms. Paulsen broke into a fresh round of giggles. “That was it. He said that, and then he went straight back to sleep,” she said.

The two sat together talking quietly for a while before Mike woke up. He seemed pain-free for the most part, made Harvey explain why and how he was there half a dozen times, and watched three and a half episodes of Parks and Recreation before falling back asleep. Harvey indulged him patiently while Ms. Paulsen watched in amusement.

“He’s good for you, isn’t he?” the counselor said. Harvey didn’t respond.

Not long after, a nurse came in and made small talk with Ms. Paulsen as she checked over Mike. Harvey bit the inside of his lip and watched her work, trying not to let his anticipation show. Either Mike would be improving or he wouldn’t. “His vitals look good,” she commented as she left the room.

Ms. Paulsen glanced at Harvey with raised eyebrows. The young Alpha glowered at her. “Not a word,” he huffed.

“I didn’t say anything,” the counselor said, but her lips held onto a slight smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still looking for song suggestions. I like the way the cover turned out, so I want the playlist to be good.


	11. Chapter 11

By Sunday morning, Mike was doing well enough for the doctors to be comfortable lowering the amount of pain medication he was on. This meant that the fourteen year old was awake more often and for longer. At some point during the night, Ms. Paulsen had traded out with Mr. Jones, who arrived with a bag of supplies for the two boys.

Harvey had slept in his clothes on the pull out couch next to Mike’s hospital bed. When he woke up, he did his best to be quiet as he folded the bed back into the couch. Mr. Jones was dosing in one of the chairs, but the sixteen year old spotted a tee shirt he recognized as his own on top of a stack of clothes. The room had a bathroom attached, so Harvey brushed his teeth with his finger and some of the hospital’s toothpaste before taking a shower. Mike and Mr. Jones both looked like they were pretty heavily asleep, so the young Alpha slipped out of the room to get some breakfast in from the hospital cafeteria.

When he returned, a nurse was in the process of changing Mike’s bandages. Someone had been kind enough to get the Omega a pair of gym shorts to wear beneath his hospital gown, but Harvey got a full view of his bare torso. In the dressing room, he hadn’t noticed how skinny Mike was, but it was apparent now, even with the swelling. The bruises looked worse, but Harvey figured that had as much to do with the surgery as anything else.

“You’ll have a pretty good scar, but it’ll fade some over time,” the nurse said as she rebandaged the area.

“Make me look tough?” Mike quipped.

The young woman laughed as she gestured that he could pull the gown back down. “Sure thing, kiddo,” she said, throwing away the paper that had held the gauze. “You’re a riot. Now just try to stay out of them.”

Mike nodded obediently. “Thank you.”

She left the room, and Mike glanced up at Harvey. The sixteen year old felt oddly conspicuous. Since he didn’t have a brush or any of his usual products, he’d had to do his best to tame his wet hair with his hands, and whoever had grabbed clothes for him—probably Johnson or another kid from Hastis Dorm—had gotten a tee shirt that was too tight.

“You stayed the night?” the fourteen year old asked, looking surprised.

“Mike, you went directly into surgery after getting punched in a broken rib and then started going into ODS,” Harvey responded, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, I stayed the night.”

“ODS,” Mike huffed, ears pink. “Like a fucking kid.”

Harvey rolled his eyes and began going through the pile of stuff Mr. Jones had brought. Half the stack of folded construction paper fell to the floor, and Harvey let out a stream of expletives. “What’s that?” Mike asked, craning his neck to see as the sixteen year old gathered them off of the floor.

“Cards,” Harvey said. “About 340 of them, give or take.”

The kid’s eyes were golf ball sized, as if he hadn’t accounted for people being worried about him. “The whole school made cards for me?” he asked, staring at the ones in Harvey’s hands as if they might disappear.

“I forgot to count the teachers,” the young Alpha continued. “And some kids made two.”

“Did you make one?” Mike asked.

Harvey raised his eyebrows and said, “I spent the night on a pull-out couch in a hospital, and you’re asking if I made you a card?”

Mike just waited, and the sixteen year old sighed.

“Yeah,” he said. “I did. Good luck finding it in all of these though.”

The fourteen year old scrunched over to the far side of his bed and patted the spot next to him. “Come sit by me,” Mike requested. “I want to go through them.”

Glancing apprehensively at Mr. Jones, Harvey dumped the cards into Mike’s lap and sat on the edge of the mattress. While the younger boy started examining the mess of markers and construction paper and glitter, Harvey hit shuffle on his phone to give them some background noise. “Ed Sheeran?” Mike said, glancing over at the screen as the music began to play quietly.

“Not one word,” Harvey said.

“Hey, I like Ed Sheeran,” Mike said. “He did that song for _the Hobbit_. It was good.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “Of course you’re a Hobbit fan,” he said.

“What’s wrong with that?” the Omega said defensively. “They were good.”

“The movies were okay at best,” Harvey said. “The book sucked. I have no idea how it ever got as big as it did.”

Mike stared like Harvey had question Jesus or Beyonce or Harry Potter. “Harvey, you can’t just not like _The Hobbit_!” he protested.

“Can, have, and will continue to,” Harvey said. “Now look at your cards.”

Harvey didn’t know what he had expected, but Mike looked at each and every card that had been made for him before handing it to set aside. The ones from his friends—Harvey was beginning to realize that there were more of them than he had accounted for—were separated from the rest. It took over an hour and a half to go through them all, and the two teenagers gradually got closer to each other. Mr. Jones woke up around the time Harvey’s phone ran out of songs to shuffle.

“Want me to put a movie on?” the language arts teacher offered.

“Sure,” Mike answered. “What are our choices?”

“ _Divergent, The Princess Bride, Glory, The Book Thief, Despicable Me, Romeo and Juliet,_ and _the Hobbit_ ,” Mr. Jones listed. Harvey groaned, and the fourteen year old smirked.

“Let’s start with the last one,” he said. Mr. Jones seemed to notice their interaction, but he didn’t comment.

As the movie started, Mike didn’t seem like he could focus. It wasn’t that he was fidgeting, the opposite really. He held himself perfectly still, not so much as shifting for the first twenty minutes of the film. “Are you hurting?” Harvey asked.

“I’m fine,” the fourteen year old said.

“There’s no sense in being in pain for no reason,” Harvey said. “If you’re hurting, call a nurse. You’ll get better faster if you feel okay.”

“Harvey, they cut me open and lined two of my ribs with metal,” Mike stated candidly. Harvey hated them image it provided. “I’m not going to feel great, but I’m okay.”

Mr. Jones, catching on to the fact that Harvey was less than satisfied with that answer, said, “He gets his next dose of pain meds in twenty minutes. Think he’ll live that long?”

Ignoring his language arts teacher, Harvey went back to pretending to watch the movie, which was actually better than he remembered. Mike continued to sit as still as pond water, but Harvey didn’t say anything else on the matter. Like clockwork, a nurse came in after twenty minutes, and Mr. Jones got up to pause the movie while Harvey did his best to look casual clamoring out of Mike’s bed.

“You keep getting better at this rate and you’ll be out of here by Thursday,” she commented cheerfully as Mike swallowed the pills. Harvey didn’t think he’d be capable of being that positive if his job was doting on sick or hurt kids all day.

“I’m missing so much school,” the fourteen year old groaned, drawing a laugh out of Nurse Paige. “I was hoping for the ‘maybe Monday’ they said on Thursday morning.”

“Like you need to worry about that, Mr. ‘I’m the Top Student in Every Class Except Spanish Because I’m a Twelve Year Old White Boy with an Eidetic Memory,’” Harvey said.

“Fourteen,” Mike informed the nurse. “I’m a fourteen year old white boy.”

She laughed once again. “Well, it sounds to me like you won’t have any problems getting caught up,” Nurse Paige said. “You’ve got this guy to help you out too.”

“That reminds me,” Harvey said as she left, going through the stack of stuff Mr. Jones had brought in search of his binder. He wasn’t exactly sure who had given it to the teacher—he hadn’t told anyone he was taking notes for Mike—but he remembered seeing it earlier. “I wrote down the stuff we did Thursday and Friday. I figured an egghead like you could just read over it and stay caught up.”

Despite the backhanded compliment, Mike smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll read over it after the movie ends.”

At the younger boy’s urging, Harvey went back to his spot next to Mike. Like they had when they were going through the cards, the two boys gradually got closer together as the movie progressed. By the time they were a quarter of the way through it, Mike’s head drooped against Harvey’s shoulder, startling the sixteen year old.

“Must be the pain medicine,” Mr. Jones said. “It makes a lot of people drowsy. You should let him sleep.”

Harvey got the feeling that Mr. Jones was thinking more than he said, but he stayed still for the rest of the movie anyways. Mike really did need to rest, especially if he wanted to beat Nurse Paige’s predicted timeline. The movie—god, was it long—was in its last half hour when Mike woke up. The fourteen year old scooted back to his side, and neither of them said anything on the matter.

The rest of the day passed in a similar fashion. Mr. Jones brought lunch from the cafeteria, and the two teenagers watched a couple more movies. After reading over the notes Harvey took, Mike insisted that the older boy quiz him on the material, which he had no trouble with. They’d just finished eating dinner when Ms. Paulsen and Ms. Pearson arrived.

“You’re taking a shift with Mike?” Harvey asked, raising his eyebrows at the dean. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she cared, but she had a school to run and plenty of people at her disposal to stick with Mike.

“No,” Ms. Pearson said. “Mr. Jones has class tomorrow, so Ms. Paulsen will be here. You also have class tomorrow, and I figured it would be more effective to go ahead and come here myself rather than letting someone else fail to convince you first.”

“‘No, Harvey, Mike will be fine at the hospital,’” the sixteen year old paraphrased. Mike looked a little irked to have them talking about him right in front of him, but that was a problem for later. “‘No, Harvey, Mike won’t go into ODS.’”

“I’ve spoken to his doctors,” Ms. Pearson said. She sounded like Harvey’s father, not an inch of room for discussion in her voice. “They agreed that it would be fine. You’ll go to class and spend the night at school. I’ll drive you here after your last class, and whoever is switching off of Mike Duty will drive you back to school. He’ll be out of the hospital within a couple days.”

Mike seemed to pick up on the fact that Harvey was about to argue. “If I’m going to miss a week of school, somebody has to be taking notes for me,” the fourteen year old said. “Harold’s writing is illegible, and Louis seems to think that “Ms. Zane walks to the left” is going to be on the test. Who does that leave? Trevor?”

“You’re lucky you’re cute, kid” Harvey said. “If anyone else tried such a blatant display of manipulation on me, I wouldn’t stand for it.”

The Omega glanced around the room at Mr. Jones, Ms. Paulsen, and Ms. Pearson. The tips of his ears were pink, and Harvey smirked as he grabbed the clothes he’d worn yesterday. “Alright, warden,” he said. Ms. Pearson looked like she was considering smacking him, but she let the sixteen year old get away with the remark because he hadn’t put up a fight. “Time to head back to the jailhouse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://8tracks.com/mnf/lasso-the-moon
> 
> Here's the playlist I made for this fic. I'll be adding to it later, and I'm still taking suggestions.


	12. Chapter 12

On Tuesday evening, Mike was released from the hospital about an hour before dinnertime. He sat stiffly, moved slowly, and didn’t have a great range of motion yet. The fourteen year old’s doctor had promised that would improve as the soreness and swelling went away. He had also insisted on the importance of Mike continuing to take his pain medication. The Omega didn’t like it because it made him drowsy, but without it he would be too sore to breathe deeply, which put him at risk for fluid to build up in his lungs.

“I’ll look out for him,” Harvey promised Ms. Pearson before the older Alpha even had a chance to say anything.

The dean just gave an indulgent smile and said, “I’m sure you will.” She seemed as relieved as Mike was that the Omega was recovering well.

However, it didn’t look like the others were going to leave much for Harvey to do once they got back to Pearson Harman Academy. As soon as the two teenagers walked into the dining hall, Max bounded out of his chair to go get a plate for Mike. Everyone in the room came by to check in on him, and Harvey was amazed by the fourteen year old’s patience as he thanked each of them for the cards they had made.

They were nearly done with their meal when the school nurse entered and gave Mike his pain medication. With everyone at the table watching him like a hawk, the young Omega snorted. “You know,” he said, raising an eyebrow, “I think I can manage not to choke on them on my own.”

“Sure, smartass,” Harvey responded, just quiet enough that the nurse could pretend he hadn’t heard him. “Just try not to break something.” Once Mike had swallowed the pills, Harvey stood up and stacked their plates in front of Louis. Harvey could see the urge to argue written across the Beta’s features, but he swallowed it down for once.

“Let’s head back to the dorms,” Harvey said. “You’ll be out like a light in half an hour.”

Mike rolled his eyes and huffed like a child, but he didn’t deny it. Waving off the half dozen teenagers who offered to walk with him, he followed Harvey out of the dining hall. It took them nearly three times as long as it usually did to get to Hastis Dorm. Every ten yards, another student or teacher or custodian would stop them to talk to Mike.

“You’ve been going here for half a month,” Harvey said when they finally reached the dorm. “How do you know all these people?”

“I’m cute,” Mike stated solemnly.

The two teenagers went back to Mike’s room and Harvey put a movie on his laptop while the fourteen year old tried to find a comfortable position to sprawl on his twin sized mattress. As _The Fast and the Furious_ played, Harvey caught Mike trying to stifle a yawn several times. The Alpha didn’t comment, but Mike was drooling by the time they were half an hour into the movie. With a smirk, Harvey lowered the volume and continued watching the movie.

The fourteen year old woke up again before it ended, saving Harvey from having to decide whether to go back to his own room or lurk around Mike’s. “Did you know Vin Diesel accidentally broke a stuntman’s nose while they were filming?” the Omega asked, trying to pretend he hadn’t fallen asleep.

“He did?” Harvey said, deciding to indulge the younger boy.

Mike nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “And when they were filming the Race Wars, there were over 1,500 cars. Some of them were real race cars with their actual drivers in them.”

“Did you swallow the IMDB page?” 

“No,” Mike huffed. “I just read it.

Harvey laughed. “I’ve got to get back to my room and finish up some reading for Mr. Jones,” he said, standing up and stretching. “You know where to find me if you need anything, kid.”

On Wednesday, Mike had doctor’s approval to start going to class, so long as he took it easy. Harvey was confident that the teachers would be accommodating, but he wasn’t so sure if Mike himself would know when to slow down. After breakfast, the sixteen year old didn’t see Mike again until lunchtime. He looked a little tired, but okay for the most part. Harvey was pleasantly surprised.

But by the time they were halfway through Spanish class, Harvey had taken note of the way Mike had set his jaw. The Omega was a little pale, and he’d gone quiet. “You okay?” Harvey asked quietly as they worked.

“I’m fine,” Mike said, not looking up from the worksheet he was writing on.

“It’s okay to take a break,” Harvey said. “The day’s almost over, so I don’t think anyone would mind if you just went back to the dorm.”

“I don’t need a break,” the fourteen year old said. The people sitting around them had to be able to hear them, but they were all polite enough to pretend they couldn’t. Harvey was once again reminded that he wasn’t the only one worried about the younger boy. “I just need to finish this.”

“Mike-”

“I’m not four years old, Harvey,” Mike snapped. “I can handle it.”

Setting his pencil down, the sixteen year old inhaled slowly. Mike was staring at the same sentence on his paper, and his ears had gone pink. “No, you’re not four years old,” Harvey said carefully after he let his breath out. Mr. Lobo glanced at the two boys, looking away a little too quickly. “But you’re fourteen, and you got out of the hospital yesterday. You want everything to be fine and dandy right now, but that’s not happening, sweetheart. You can run yourself into the ground all you want, and the only thing that’s going to happen is you’ll get better even slower.”

The Omega stared at his paper for several seconds before sighing. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m being a dick. It’s just…” Mike made a vague hand gesture around the classroom, and Harvey did his best to survey it with fresh eyes. Despite the school’s modern amenities, the building reeked of tradition and old money families. It was in the high ceilings of the dining hall and the names of the dorms. There were only eleven students in the class—something Harvey knew Mike had probably never experienced in public school—but they all knew that the campus held 342 choice boys in identical uniforms. “I have to earn this, Harvey.”

“Just because you aren’t paying your way doesn’t mean you deserve to be here any less than anyone else,” Harvey said firmly. “Finish up with that, and as soon as the bell rings you’re going to go take a nap or something. You’re dead on your feet, kid.”

For once, Mike didn’t argue.


	13. Chapter 13

“I’ve got it,” Harvey said, putting his wallet from his back pocket and handing over the bills before Mike had a chance to argue. They were on another van trip into town and had been able to spend most of it goofing off since neither of them really needed anything.

“Vanilla for the gentleman,” the girl behind the counter said, smiling, as she passed Harvey his cup. She was remarkably cheerful for someone who had probably had at least half of all the boys on the van trip come by. Harvey was no stranger to the fact that a lot of the people in town weren’t fond of the rich kids who went to the prep school on the edge of town. “And rocky road for the boyfriend.”

It took several seconds for Mike to stop laughing enough to take his cone. He held the ice cream in one hand and wrapped the other around his ribcage. “We’re—We’re not…” Harvey sputtered, sending the younger boy into a fresh round of giggles. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Once they were back on the street, Harvey could feel Mike’s eyes on him when the fourteen year old paused between licks of ice cream. “It’s not that funny,” the Alpha grunted.

That didn’t stop Mike from relaying the story to Max as soon as they met up with the rest of the group and headed back to the van. “Wait, you’re serious?” Max said, glancing at Harvey. “I thought you guys had been going out for like a month. I’m not trying to be a dick, man. I just really thought that.”

“We’re not dating,” Harvey spat.

“What’s so bad about that?” Mike said defensively. “We’re not, but you say it like that’s the worst thing people could assume.”

“You homophobic or something?” Max said. He was one of the many students who had deemed themselves to be Mike’s personal defenders. Mike seemed to be entirely oblivious, but Harvey was annoyed every time one of them showed up.

“Hardly,” Harvey said dismissively. “I’m bisexual.”

“Then why do you act like dating me is the worst you could do?” Mike asked, but the older boy didn’t answer. When they loaded the vans, Mike clamored into the backseat between Max and Tristan, leaving Harvey in the middle seat with two kids he didn’t know. By the time they were back at school, the sixteen year old had to admit that regret had settled in his gut.

“Can we talk?” he said before Mike had time to get away. The other boys politely pretended not to hear.

“Fine,” the Omega said. “Let’s walk this way.”

For a few minutes, they were quiet. Like most weekends, the campus was mostly empty, and it wasn’t hard to find an isolated place to talk. Finally, Mike paused beneath a tree and turned to Harvey. “What are we?” he said bluntly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean a fourteen year old kid from a public school whose way out of his league shows up, and you… You give me a tour and teach me to tie a tie and deal with me bawling like a dumbass and tell me which kids are dicks and help me with mock trial and buy me a suit and get me out of it when I get stuck.” Mike finally paused to breathe. “You punched Kyle and spent almost a week sleeping on a cot in the hospital because I went into ODS after a day and a half away from you, but you get mad when the girl selling us ice cream thinks we’re dating. Harvey, _what are we?_ ”

“It’s not that easy, Mike,” Harvey said, running a hand through his hair. He’d left it without much product today, and now he wished he hadn’t. He wanted the confidence of well-styled hair and a fitted suit, so maybe he wouldn’t feel like such a damn kid. Almost subconsciously, Harvey straightened the hem of his tee shirt and squared his shoulders. “You know I’m not a virgin, right?”

_“I swear to God, Harvey-”_

“Not like that,” the Alpha interrupted before pausing to get his thoughts straight. Mike looked torn between taking a seat on the curb and walking away. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around himself and stood there. “I caught my mom cheating on my dad when I was fourteen, and I never told him. I tried to tell myself that it didn’t matter, but it fucked me up. The school I went to at the time had a sister school in the same town, and I’d… I’d sneak off sometimes.”

“What does you having sex with some girl or girls or whatever have to do with me?” Mike said.

“One of the girls,” Mike’s jaw twitched a little at the plural, but Harvey doesn’t let himself lose momentum, “got caught sneaking back in after she’d gone out to buy a pregnancy test. It was negative. But if it hadn’t been, I could have ruined her life. We were both fifteen; there was no way we would have been ready for that. We got expelled when the deans figured everything out, but it could have been so much worse.”

Mike closed his eyes, and for a second Harvey was terrified that he was going to cry. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked, opening his eyes.

“Because I fucked up that girl’s life,” the sixteen year old said bluntly. “I don’t know what we are. And I’m shitty with this kind of thing, and I should have left you alone before we got into this.”

“First of all,” Mike began, “you weren’t the only participant in any and all sex-having when you were fifteen. You fucked and fucked up together. Second, I’m not having sex with anyone any time soon. I’m fourteen.”

“I know, I wasn’t trying to imply-”

The Omega held up a hand, and somehow managed to cut Harvey Specter off with just a gesture. If Kyle Durant or Harvey’s father could have seen it, they would have died from shock. “Third, you can’t just decide ‘I am a bad person, and I am taking myself off the market because of something I did when I was fifteen years old.’ That isn’t going to work out forever.”

“Well, what do you suggest, Mike?” Harvey sighed.

“Chill out,” the fourteen year old countered. “Just go with it and see what happens. Let me make my own decisions. Get over something you did when you were fifteen.”

“Chill out,” Harvey repeated, raising an eyebrow. “That’s your advice?”

“Yeah,” Mike said. “Think you can handle it?”

“I think I can handle it.”


	14. Senior Year

“What’s your problem, dude?” the Alpha said to the freshman who’d just sat down at the table. Despite the fact that he was now a senior, Trevor Evans still hung around with freshmen and sophomores mostly. In his junior year, Mike had brought him into the fold of upperclassmen briefly, but that had ended as soon as Harvey decided Trevor was a bad influence.

“Nothing,” the freshmen grumbled. One of his buddies laughed.

“He tried to put the moves on this guy he’s had a thing for since the school year started, and he got shut down majorly,” the buddy said. “Some little blond Omega with this smooth-talking Alpha that came out of nowhere.”

“Oh, man,” Trevor groaned. “Don’t tell me you went after Mike Ross.”

The freshman looked up from where he’d been picking at his spaghetti. “How’d you know that?” he asked.

“Because _everyone_ has had a thing for Ross at one point or another, and he’s only ever had a thing for one guy,” Trevor stated. “Let me tell you where you went wrong. First mistake: Mike’s a senior. You’re like twelve years old.”

“I’m fifteen,” the freshman said haughtily. Some of the new kids took a little longer to catch on to the fact that nearly everyone at Pearson Hardman Academy was just as wealthy and intelligent as they were. “And even if he is a senior, Mike’s the same age as me.”

“Your second mistake,” Trevor continued like the younger student had never spoken, “is named Harvey Specter. AKA the one guy Mike has had a thing for.”

“Is he the dude who looked like he was either going to have Rich expelled or stabbed?” the buddy asked, reminding Trevor of their names. The freshman class had three Richards, known respectively as Rich, Rick, and Dick. He was mostly sure the buddy was Dick.

“Probably,” Trevor said. “And he could probably have both of those things done. Ms. Pearson took him on as her personal project when he was a sophomore, and his dad is a lawyer in New York City.”

Rich groaned, and Trevor laughed. “You’ll be fine as long as you never so much as glance at Mike again,” he said.

“How long have they been together?” Dick asked.

“Pretty much as soon as Mike transferred here in our junior year,” Trevor shrugged. “They danced around the whole thing for a while, but everyone could tell. Harvey was crazy protective, and Mike followed him around like a puppy all the time.”

On the other side of the dining hall, Mike, Harvey, and the rest of the group they hung around with were eating lunch. “Are you doing mock trial again this year?” Louis asked Mike.

The fifteen year old nodded. It hadn’t escaped Harvey’s notice that Mike paid extra attention to the colleges with good pre-law track records when the school toured campuses. “I’ll kick ass,” the Omega stated certainly. “I’ll know what I’m doing this year, and my key witness will show up.”

“I promise I’ll be there,” Harvey said. 

“I never said you would be my key witness,” Mike teased, raising an eyebrow, but managing to keep a straight face. Harvey stared him down until the fifteen year old laughed. “I thought you hated court stuff.”

“It wasn’t so bad last year,” the Alpha said. “Plus, I look damn good in a suit.”

“Earth to Harvey,” Louis said from down the table, raising his voice to be heard over the laughter. “The entire table can hear you, not just Mikey there.”

The seventeen year old just shrugged, and Harold changed the subject. “Didn’t you guys send in your college stuff today?” he prompted. Harold didn’t have to worry about that yet because he was an underclassman, but Mike, Harvey, and the rest of the senior class did.

“Yeah,” Mike confirmed. Pearson Hardman Academy expected big things from their graduates, and part of that was applying to a host of Ivy League schools. Harvey was certain Mike could go anywhere he wanted, but the younger boy had insisted on applying to a few around the area he had grown up as a safety net. “I’m trying not to think about it honestly.”

“Because clearly you’ve accomplished nothing throughout your schooling,” Harvey said, nudging Mike’s heavy messenger bag with his foot. Even this early in the school year, the workload from all AP classes was massive. In spite of everything he’d had going on the previous year, Mike had stayed on top of his grades and extracurriculars. He’d interned with the Department of Justice over the summer, and Harvey couldn’t imagine being anything but proud of everything Mike had done. Even so, the younger boy seemed to feel like he still had something to prove.

“You’re going to do just fine,” Harold promised. He was better than Harvey at being reassuring. “Just wait and see. A couple months from now you’re going to have scholarships rolling in.”

“Or you could just utilize your sugar daddy’s money like most people would,” Louis said.

“Technically, it’s my dad’s money, so I think the term would be ‘sugar grandpa,’” Harvey said.

 

“I’m not doing that,” Mike stated concisely. “The state is going to be giving me ‘Oh, you poor orphaned Omega’ money until I’m 18. I can get a scholarship and work and use that and be fine.”

“We know you will,” Harold said. Throughout the time Mike and Ms. Paulsen had worked scholarship and college applications, Harvey had heard thousands of Red Bull-fueled, anxious ramblings, and he had no doubt Harold had too. Mike had been so worked up about the whole process that it had been easy to pass off a Harvard application as being for a private university near Mike’s hometown.

Harvey wasn’t going to pressure the younger boy to go anywhere he didn’t want to, but he’d like Mike to know he had options.

“So who’s going on the van trip tomorrow?” Max asked, changing the subject. “Mr. Jones is one of the chaperones, and he’s always super laidback.”

“Totally,” Harvey responded brightly. “Getting stuck at the mall all day while people get high behind Hot Topic sounds fun.”

“Translation: Harvey is spending the weekend with his mom and his little brother,” Mike said.

“Like you’re so cool,” the older boy said. While the Alpha made fun of everyone, he took on a different tone with Mike. The teasing was always affectionate, and the look on the fifteen year old’s face showed that he knew it. “You’re spending the weekend with your grandma.”

“That’s exactly why I’m cool,” Mike said, spotting Ms. Griffith entering the dining hall. She gestured him over, and he held up a finger to show that he needed a minute. “And it looks like my ride is here.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Harvey said, standing up. Mike nodded as he shouldered his bag, and they both went over to dump their trays.

Edith Ross wasn’t healthy enough to make the drive out to get Mike even as infrequently as he spent weekends at home. When Gordon Specter heard Harvey mention it, he volunteered Ray, who usually brought Harvey to his father’s. Mike didn’t like to be a “freeloader,” but he agreed for the sake of getting to see his grandmother during the school year. 

“You need to get a cell phone,” Harvey said for the umpteenth, and Mike made a vague, noncommittal noise.

“I’ll see you Sunday night,” the Omega said, leaning in for a hug. Harvey wrapped his arms around the smaller boy’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, ignoring a leering student walking by. Lots of people had a hard time equating the Harvey Specter the Asshole with Harvey Specter the Boyfriend. 

“Yeah,” Harvey said. “Have a good weekend.”

Mike was smiling almost shyly as he got into the car and rolled down the window to drape his arm out. Ray waved goodbye, and Harvey watched them pull out of the school parking lot before walking back to his dorm to wait for his mom and Marcus to show up. His senior year felt promising.


End file.
